Next year’s Finance & Operations portfolio is one of the least-contested SSMU positions in recent memory – it’s been like the hot potato of exec portfolios. In any case, The Daily invites you to hear from New York City native Tobias Silverstein, your newly acclaimed VP.

MD: Which General Assembly (GA) motions are most important to you, and what would you do to implement them?

TS: The VP Finance & Operations’ mandate is to work and manage everything that the GA decides.

There is not one thing in particular that I would push, but I would work closely to follow what the GA mandates.

MD: How do you plan to balance SSMU operations – like Haven Books – with the needs of clubs and services?

TS: We have mandates from several sources – the GA, Council, and the students. There is no clear way to balance and weigh the needs of one against the other. Ultimately, my goal is long-run financial balance and stability for SSMU. Without that, SSMU will not be able to continue, so it is absolutely my number one goal. I would have to take these things on a case-by-case basis.

MD: Should SSMU invest in mining companies? Why or why not?

TS: I do realize that mining companies are a very high sector of growth in today’s economy and that they represent very attractive investments. But I also appreciate the ethical and environmental concerns that people have about mining companies. I don’t necessarily see an issue in investing in a wholly-owned Canadian mining company because Canadian mining regulations are among the most stringent in the world, and I feel that they address those concerns.

MD: Would you favour a student-run café in Shatner?

TS: That will be decided before I enter, and if it is decided that there will be a student-run café then that will be something I will have to organize and manage. I think it is important to consider the performance of Haven Books last year, which is very much still just a start-up company. People should consider whether SSMU should be in the process of running two start-ups simultaneously.